Happy Five Minutes at the Crystal Mosque

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Almost five o’clock in the afternoon….

I was still guessing, who could be, one of three drivers who would make the last trip of Bas KITē Lane C02. They were joking and intimately chatting at the coffee shop in terminal corner.

I kept watching from the waiting bench behind the Bas KITē queue until finally one of them got up from his seat, headed for the bus and then started the engine to heat it up before starting the journey.

“Oh, he’s the one”, I snapped my fingers.

I quickly intercepted it. “Sir, will the Crystal Mosque be visible from the road when this bus will pass?”, I even intercepted him with a silly question.

“You can’t see the mosque from the road…why?”, he looked surprised by the question I asked.

“If you can’t see it, I won’t be taking this last bus, Sir”, I frowned.

“Do you want to visit the Crystal Mosque?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You can take this bus, I’ll wait five minutes for a quick visitation to the Crystal Mosque. How about mi idea?”.

“Thank you. Okay, I’ll go with you, Sir.”

Negotiations between tourists and city bus drivers were over. Now I had the opportunity even if not long to visit one of the most beautiful mosques in Asia and even the world.

Exactly five o’clock in the afternoon….

I hopped on the Bas KITē from the front door. Handed the 3 Ringgit fare to the driver and started taking seats. Meanwhile, Bas KITē slowly began to leave the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

Even though my destination was in the west, but that time Bas KITē first went east, picked up some passengers at Shahbandar and Hotel Grand Continental, then turned around at Bulatan Batu Bersurat, Kuala Terengganu, and then Bas KITē went to the west to reach my desired destination, i.e Crystal Mosque.

Bulatan Batu Bersurat Kuala Terengganu at the center of the meeting of four roads, i.e Sultan Ismail Street, Sultan Mahmud Street, Sultan Zainal Abidin Street and Sultan Sulaiman Street.
The atmosphere on Air Jernih Street that afternoon.
Mydin Grand Market seen from Tengku Mizan Street

Slowly but consistently, the Bas KITē drove along the south side of the Terengganu River and approached its destination. Now the bus was starting to move over the bridge connecting Wan Man Island. After crossing the bridge, I was faced with a large gate in front of Taman Tamadun Islam.

The Islamic Gardens Park is an important attraction on that artificial island. This is the first theme park in Malaysia that combines the concepts of religion and tourism, of course the Crystal Mosque is an important part. Along the way through Tamadun Islam Park, the Bus KITē driver explained that in that park there were replicas of the best Islamic structures from around the world such as the Taj Mahal, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock, but I didn’t have time to visit them. .

“Crystal Mosque is near….I’ll stop and wait for you for five minutes…When you’re done, let’s go back again to this bus”, the driver spoke to me while focusing behind the wheel.

“Okay, Sir”, I happily answered.

The bus slowly slowed down and entered a large parking lot. I still didn’t realize that that place was a stop for the Crystal Mosque religious tourist destination.

“The Crystal Mosque is over thereē”, the driver pointed in a direction.

“Okay, Sir”, I quickly got up and got off the bus.

“The five-minute countdown has started”, I thought, my heart beating faster. There was no other way, except to run as fast as possible to the mosque.

The further I ran, the face of the Crystal Mosque was already in sight. And after running past a local young man who was busy documenting the mosque with his tripod, I suddenly stopped.

“Can you take a photo, brother?”, I offered my Canon EOS with a smile.

Without saying anything, the young man smiled back and took my camera. For a moment, his agenda was slightly disturbed by my tacky behavior.

Snap….

After thanking him, I ran back to the mosque. Within a minute I arrived. Ignoring any crowds, I preferred to stand still watching the mosque, which was mostly made of steel and glass.

I continued to enjoy the mosque with a capacity of 1,500 worshipers from the banks of the Terengganu River. The combination of black and white made the 13-year-old mosque very elegant and eye-catching. This was the first ‘smart’ mosque in Terengganu, the existence of an integrated IT infrastructure that allowed worshipers to access the internet to read the electronic Al-Quran.

The Crystal Mosque front view.
Crystal Mosque side view.
The beautiful Terengganu River.

Five very precious minutes didn’t expect that with time constraints, I was still allowed to visit the Crystal Mosque.

Four minutes have passed….

One last minute I’ll use to run back to Bas KITē. I didn’t want the driver to leave me and make it even more difficult for me to get public transportation to go home to the inn.

The relief came when the Bas KITē still stopped with a sluggish engine sound and the driver was looking at me while waving his hand as a signal for me to speed up running.

“Hufffttt….I’m tired, Sir”, I jumped from the front door.

“Hahahaha… How about that, how beautiful is the Crystal Mosque?”, he laughed as he slowly stepped on the gas pedal and let the bus go slowly.

“Very good, Sir”, I panted sitting in the front seat on the left side.

Time to back to the inn….

My adventure that day was over….

Tomorrow I would take a long road trip to Kuala Lumpur.

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Exploring Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu

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Backtracking a moment from Payang Memory Lane, I followed Pasar Besar Payang Street to the mouth of the Terengganu River. Considering the roaming area was a coastal area, then my feet wouldn’t be far from the water. I would stop two hundred meters north, right on the banks of the Terengganu River.

While the sun was still perfectly round in the west, its rays were still able to make the skin red. Forcing me to occasionally stop behind the big trunks of palm trees by the roadside. Hhmmhh…. Terengganu’s sun was too long, it made the whole face sting.

But not long….A moment later I arrived at the northern edge of Kampung Cina (China Town). My eyes were instantly fixed on the arched footbridge at the eastern end of the village, it seemed that the object had become the main landmark of this night’s tourist attractions.

Arch bridge on the Kuala Terengganu Heritage Island.
The dividing canal between Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu and Kampung Cina.
The gateway for pedestrians to Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu.
That was where I would enjoy the atmosphere….I Love KT Park.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time tonight, my body was tired to endured the sleepiness all night at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. So tonight, I chose to soundly sleep. It was fine that I have to visit that destiation now, even though I won’t be find its culmination visitation time.

That was Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu, an artificial seven-hectare island on the banks of Terengganu River estuary which was commonly used for night markets, big events, music concerts, art exhibitions and the base of Heritage Island River Cruise to explore the beauty of Terengganu River which had many excellence tourist attractions in its various key spots. Locals often refered to Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu as i-City Terengganu, referring to the ICT-based city in Shah Alam, Selangor.

On top of the iconic archway, I freely could gaze at all corners of Pulau Warisan Kuala Terengganu. In plain view, the island was only separated from the mainland by a canal thirty meters wide. The canal looked clean and was occasionally passed by a security guard’s engine boat.

It seemed that this island wanted to reveal its identity as the pride of Terengganu with the existence of a green park on the eastern edge of the island. The park was titled I Love KT Park. From a distance, several vehicles were seen parked in the park. A group of families seemed to roll out their mats to enjoy the sunset in Terengganu River by eating the home-cooked food they brought, some men on motorbikes seemed to prepare fishing rods, they were ready to hunt fish on the banks of river.

As a venue for large events at night, the island was equipped with firing light poles in every corner. I could imagine how festive it would be tonight when the lights were turned on and poured light into the crowds of culinary tents below.

“Looks like I have to complete the adventure by sitting and relaxing at the end of the island,” I muttered as I looked at the row of shady trees in the northern shore. I started down the canal to reach the main gate of the island which was in the form of a graceful gate with a typical Chinese pattern.

My steps began to split the island right from the middle, I accelerated the swing of my steps to pass the twilight rays which still gave off their stings. I arrived….. Oh, there wasn’t a single bench to just sit on. Alright…. I took out the itinerary sheets which I compiled a few months ago. I tore off the first sheet where I had completed all the stages of the itinerary. I took a clearing under a big tree and sat down on my own itinerary sheet.

Cool….silent….safe….enchanting, that was the feeling which arised when you awere under a shady tree with my gaze thrown far to the north. I could see the expanse of Pulau Duyung (Duyung Island) which was three hundred meters away and was only separated by the waters of the Terengganu River.

Pulau Duyung Supply Centre (PDSC).
Jabatan Pelancongan Negeri Terengganu.
Seen in the distance is the Sultan Mahmud Bridge.
The beauty of the Terengganu River before sunset.

The bustle of the ships belonging to the Pulau Duyung Supply Center (PDSC), which is one of the oil and gas companies in Terengganu, was very obvious, but I didn’t know what was going on inside. The Ignorance made me only able to digest the scenery in front of me, which was like an oil shipyard.

While on the east side, there was a magnificent building belonging to Jabatan Pelancongan Negeri Terengganu. There were tourist ships neatly lined up on the banks. Maybe it was the ships that would take tourists to the beautiful islands which were Terengganu’s marine assets.

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Sponsored Message in Maziah Palace

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For me, visiting a country would be perfect if I were able to visit the palace of its president or king. I don’t know why the president palace or king or sultan has become a separate icon of a country. Therefore, if possible I will try my best to visit this special building. I have visited many state palaces during my journeys. Nurul Iman Palace (Bandar Seri Begawan), Grand Palace (Bangkok), Malacanang Palace (Manila), Istana Negara (Kuala Lumpur), Gyeongbok Palace (Seoul), Ōsaka-jō (Osaka), Mulee-aage Palace (Maldives) and Al Alam Royal Palace (Muscat) are some examples.

Likewise with my trip to Kuala Terengganu this time, I managed to take the time to visit the palace of Terengganu Sultanate…..Ulala, I finally added another palace collection

Unmitigated, I visited it on the first day, of course because I was afraid of missing it……

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Exactly one-thirty on afternoon, the air was still stinging, burning the skin on my face that I had never protected. I left the gazebo which was starting to fill with locals to escape the hot sun. Makes my mood to enjoy the charm of Terengganu River no longer solemn.

I went away….

I decided to finish the curve to the west from Sultan Zainal Abidin Street which was made of concrete with a pavling block motif. Zainal Abidin himself is taken from the Sultan name of Terengganu who is currently in power.

I know that around Kedai Payang Market there is a tourist destination located right on top of a hill.

Known as the Bukit Putri which became the monitoring point of Terengganu Sultanate against enemy attacks from the ocean. While the name Puteri itself is taken from a myth that is said to tell the story of a princess living on a hill and likes to help the surrounding community.

That’s it….Bukit Putri which is being renovated.

“Where is the gate to Putri Hill, Ms? “, I asked a clothes seller at the bottom of hill.

“Closed, Sir, undergoing renovation”, she softly answered while inserting a sweet smile….. God.

Hmmhhh, how can….Finally, Bukit Puteri wasn’t crossed off from my Terengganu bucket list.

Still under the scorching sun, I rushed away from the foot of Bukit Puteri to continue my exploration.

Because actually Bukit Puteri was part of the defense of Terengganu Sultanate in the 1800s, so the existence of imperial palace wouldn’t be far from the hill. Sure enough, two hundred meters later I found the palace gate….Maziah Palace was its name.

Without hesitation, I entered the gate of four twin pillars with the imperial coat of arms in its center. The symbol is golden in color, culminated in a crown symbolizing sovereignty, in the middle is a kris crossed sword that marks the typical weapon of the sultanate, flanked by two main books, namely the sultan’s law and the Qur’an as well as the entanglement of shawl as a marker of the greatness of the sultanate.

The quiet atmosphere in front of the sultanate made me free to enjoy the palace of Terengganu Sultanate from its outer garden. The garden nicknamed Padang Maziah was more than enough for me to get asylum from the threat of the sun.

It took a little while to be able to enjoy this palace because I had to be busy with some sponsorship messages. Yupz, the sponsors which certainly helped reduce the cost of my trip. Struggling with a mini tripod, made me look busy in front of palace gate. Hope no guards kicked me out while doing that “business activity”.

Half an hour later, I could really enjoy the beauty of the palace building from Padang Maziah. Taking a seat in the shade of large trees growing around the garden, I spent my midday in that special place.

Maziah Palace Gate.
Halo RICH….
That was the palace….
Padang Maziah.
Shady……

Several young couples looked in and out of the garden area just to capture themselves in iconic places around the palace. Made me feel not alone. I deliberately lingered in Padang Maziah to wait for the sun to slip from its highest point, because my next destination was an open area which was located right in the north coast of Malaysia.

Ah sustenance wasn’t going anywhere, I never thought I could explore the coast of Malaysia…. Never thought about it before.

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